The El Dorado School Board on Monday approved Superintendent Jim Tucker’s proposal for making up two snow days.
Because roads in the district were “icy and not safe for travel,” classes weren’t in session Jan. 16-17, and state standards require that public school districts hold school for 178 days.
The first day will be made up on Feb. 19, which was originally scheduled as a parent-teacher conference day. Students will go to school from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. with the parent-teacher conferences following from 3:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.
Buses will run at 1:30 p.m. that day.
To make up for the second day, Tucker recommended extending six school days by 30 minutes, dismissing students at 3:45 p.m.
“If we do that, then we can make up another day,” Tucker said.
Board member Shaneil “PJ” Yarbrough then asked whether that would make all periods longer or simply elongate the last period of the day, to which Tucker said “it would be up to the principals.”
The board then approved extending school days by 30 minutes on March 5-8 and on March 12-13. At El Dorado High School, students will report back to their fourth period to work on CATS after the 3:15 p.m. bell.
Last month, the district approved five Alternative Methods of Instruction (AMI) days. Students received AMI assignment packets, which contain materials “relevant to the current nine weeks’ curriculum and is structured so that the work can be completed individually by the student.” Packets, which were sent home with students last week, can be used in place of in-class instruction if school is canceled because of inclement weather at a later date.
AMI can’t be used to make up the days missed previously.
In other business, the 2018-2019 district calendar was presented by Chelsey Turner, media specialist from Washington Middle School, and approved by the board.
The Calendar Committee developed two proposed calendars that were voted on by the district staff. Calendar No. 1 won by 87 percent of the votes, which has school beginning on Aug. 14 and ending on May 31, 2019.
Holiday breaks are scheduled for: Sept. 3 (Labor Day), Nov. 19-23 (Thanksgiving break), Dec. 24 to Jan. 4, 2019 (Christmas break), Jan. 21, 2019 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day), March 18-22, 2019 (Spring break), April 19, 2019 (Good Friday) and May 27, 2019 (Memorial Day).
Additional breaks are set for Oct. 19 (Fall break), Feb. 15, 2019 (Winter break/snow day) and April 22, 2019 (Easter Break/snow day).
The date for the 2019 graduation has not yet been scheduled.
The board also approved new technology wiring at Hugh Goodwin, which will take place during the summer. E-rate requires any contract over $25,000 to be approved by the school board.
E-rate pays 80 percent of the district’s allotted amount and the El Dorado School District will pay the difference, plus the other 20 percent. Both E-rate and the school district will pay about $56,000 each for the wiring.
Last summer, Murmil Education Center and Northwest Elementary received new wiring.
Shelby Mills, a high school junior and treasurer of the EHS Student Council, updated the board on student council activities Monday, reporting that a recent event raised more than it ever had.
“On Saturday, we had our MISSter EHS pageant and we made the most money we’ve ever made,” Mills said. “We are donating $2,500 to the Arkansas Children’s Hospital.”
The next school board meeting will be at 6 p.m. March 12 in the administrative office boardroom.
Kaitlyn Rigdon can be reached at 870-862-6611 or [email protected].